INSPIRING CHANGE: WOMEN’S POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
PROMOTING WOMEN’S POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN PARLIAMENT
Gender equality in politics is still a distant reality across the globe, with only one-third of Commonwealth countries exceeding the global target of 30 per cent women’s representation in Parliament. Organizations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is fighting to change this, writes the UNDP’s Parliamentary Advisor, through its support of various projects and forums to help strengthen Parliaments and encourage female engagement and participation at the decision-making level.
Mr Charles Chauvel Mr Chauvel is the Parliamentary Development Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Prior to his current role, he was Shadow Attorney-General, and Shadow Minister for Justice, Courts and Corrections in the New Zealand Parliament. Mr Chauvel is the only person of Pacific Island ancestry to have served on the front bench of any major NZ political party. Special acknowledgement goes to Ms Marilyn Cham, Parliamentary Development Consultant, UNDP, for assisting in researching this article.
Why is the UN Development Programme interested in encouraging more women to be active in politics, and then trying to ensure that they can participate effectively in public life? Simply this: the evidence1
women’s rights. The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians association7
does significant work shows that sustainable
human development – whether reducing child and maternal mortality; improving access to education for women and girls; combating HIV, TB, malaria and other diseases; or improving the environment – works much better in societies that are more equal.
Despite constituting half of the
world’s population, women continue to be disproportionately under- represented in governance and at all levels of decision-making. Last year, a milestone2
was reached in women’s
participation in Parliaments, with one in five MPs in the world now being female. However gender equality in politics is still a distant reality in most countries. Progress has been slow toward achieving even the minimum target of 30 per cent representation of women in national Parliaments, regarded as a “critical mass”3
level of representation. As of 1 December 22 | The Parliamentarian | 2014: Issue One Mr Charles Chauvel
2013, the worldwide average was only 21.4 per cent.4 UNDP is currently working to
strengthen Parliaments in 22 of the 53 members of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is an important partner in this work, including in efforts to increase women’s political participation. The Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 19915
reaffirmed the commitment
of Commonwealth countries to gender equality. The Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-20156
draws on international commitments for the realization of
on strategies to increase women’s participation in Parliament and mainstream gender considerations in all CPA activities and programmes. In 2013, eleven Commonwealth member countries were in the top 40 countries for mainstreaming women into Parliament: Guyana, Grenada, Lesotho, Mozambique, New Zealand, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda.8
Member
nations such as Rwanda, with 64 per cent representation of women in Parliament, are showing real global leadership in this field,9
closely
followed by Seychelles with 43 per cent and South Africa with 42 per cent.10
However, it is still the case that
only one-third of Commonwealth countries have exceeded the global target of 30 per cent women’s representation in Parliaments11 envisioned in the 1995 Beijing Declaration,12
representing a global
commitment to achieving equality, development and peace for women worldwide. A lack of gender balance
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